iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 – who will win?
Sadly, no one’s left an iPhone 6 on the bar in my local, nor have I been whisked off to South Korea to get the skinny on Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy S4. Like you, I’ve heard some rumours and I know the lay of the land in the smartphone kingdom better than most. But this isn’t going to be 800 words of sit-on-the-fence technological navel-gazing, topped off with a half-baked payoff to be wafted into the editorial ether. I’m here to call a winner – and it’s the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Before you rush to your MacBook to accuse me of being on the Android community’s fictional payroll, let’s take a look at why. And no trolling till you reach the end, iPhone fans. Promise? Okay, then we’ll begin.
First of all comes firstness: because there is a near certainty – based on historical release schedules – that Samsung’s phone will be (a) announced and (b) on sale before Apple’s, just like its dad, the Galaxy S3 (above). At the time of its announcement, it will also likely have the finest spec sheet of any phone in the world. And the press – tired of championing Apple’s new wares – will jump on the opportunity to back an underdog. It’s what they do.
Companies change (ask a stockbroker). Samsung’s reputation is gaining, Apple’s is waning. Ten years ago Samsung made TVs you could only buy out of catalogues. Now it’s one of the biggest and most respected consumer technology brands on the planet. Roll out the same timeline for Apple and you’ll find a company that set the bar for innovation spectacularly high – only to stall itself into a rut after pioneering CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011.
Apple’s iPhone was a revolution in mobile phone user interface. Its iPhone 3G built on that to make sense of a mobile device that was so adept at browsing the internet on the move. The App Store caused an explosion of innovation outside Apple’s walls, but made the iPhone – particularly the gorgeously wantable iPhone 4 – peerless in its brilliance. But the iPhone 4S saw innovation falter in favour of a headline app called Siri. And when was the last time you used that?
By the time the iPhone 5 came along, there were no surprises. Apple cowed to popular demand for a bigger screen, but the design lacked the intuitive flair of earlier models and other improvements merely kept abreast of the median trends at the top end of the market.
Meanwhile, Samsung fought its way to smartphone supremacy by backing Google’s Android operating system. Its Galaxy series had consistently been good, but with the Galaxy S2, it really hit its stride. 2012’s Galaxy S3 combined big design, big computing power and a gloriously big screen to dominate its Android rivals; even the beautifully designed HTC One X couldn’t block its rush to the top of the Android smartphone charts. Outside the tech cognoscenti, there remain many people who think Android is a Samsung sub-brand.
Google Play (née Android Market) now offers a stunning collection of apps, with the best almost always optimised for use with the Galaxy S3 (and other top tier smartphones). It doesn’t quite rival Apple’s App Store, but it’s worryingly close and gaining. Worrying for Apple, that is.
Up until this point, Apple has relied on its free lunch publicity and genuinely excellent build quality to keep its head in front. But things have changed. The iPhone 5 chips every time you look at it. Apple alienated its everyday users by forcing a disruptive change to its own mapping software – Apple Maps – a change that was patently for the worse. And it also encouraged public opprobrium by changing its dock connector – thereby short-changing anyone who’d invested in its significant portfolio of accessories. (For the record, we don’t blame Apple for changing its connector once in over a decade, but plenty of others do.)
Meanwhile, Samsung has stolen a march on its chief competitor. The Galaxy series’ build quality has improved considerably as the generations have progressed, and we expect another nod to solidity with the Galaxy S4. Samsung’s lush, large screens (also found on the Galaxy Note) are not born of a grudging acquiescence to consumer demand, but a real desire to offer new experiences to the hordes of customers looking for something on which to check their email, jot notes, browse the web and lob birds at frogs.
So I’m not just here to stir the virtual proverbial. I really do believe this is the year Samsung can stamp its authority on the top spot in smartphones. The Galaxy S4 will go up against the iPhone 6 this year. I’m here to call a winner – and it’s the Samsung Galaxy S4.
By Paddy Smith
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Comments
dannyk
15 weeks ago
C'mon Paddy! This is THE most trolling article I have read! How you can pick a winner at this stage? And I'm not saying I'm an Apple fan only! I do like some of the Samsung mobile offerings as well, name it, SGS3!
SGS4 will be better cause it will be released first?,, because of "so called" Octa processor?... Well.. I say only time will tell…. If Apple will learn from their mistakes (and they are in the position without choice right now)they got HUGE potential to be the best again and smoke any upcoming phone this year including SGS4! Please Paddy!!,, stop trolling in the article like this! PEACE!
markster1971
15 weeks ago
Simple Samsung. they are innovative. and they design some amazing phones. apple just make the same phone 4/4s/5. and claim there a new phone each time.
So without a doubt Samsung will dominate 2013 and they deserve it. you never seem the same phone twice.
look at the facts Galaxy S1/S2/S3. not one phone looks the same, unlike Apples phones.
kunatiabhi
15 weeks ago
S4 for sure
jtdj
15 weeks ago
There is no doubt the S4 will be streets ahead of the iphone6. Many other phones will be too, the M7, Note 3. I can't see the iphone6 even competing with the S3 or Note 2. There really is no comparision between them. The high end Samsung devices S & Note range phones are fantastically powerful pieces of technology and coupled with the openess and customibility of android, its a winning combination. The iphone is more like an overpriced toy. Its little wonder the majority of users are teenage girls and balding, ageing males with second hand porches.
britrock2k07
15 weeks ago
agreed, samsung will releae s4 way before iphone 6.
I agree you shouldnt judge which is best before either have confirmed specs...
but you can be sure the s4 will have a bigger screen and battery than the iphone 6.
anyway all this aside to the important part...
"lob birds at frogs"...you mean pigs right! tell me you know its pigs, cos if you are writing for the biggest tech mags site an you don't know important details about the worlds most downloaded app...then for shame!
dannyk
15 weeks ago
Unfortunately... All the Samsungs.... Design wise.... All look like a soap dish!....
Paddy Smith
15 weeks ago
Yes, I know they're pigs - although I spent ages thinking they were frogs when AB first came out. Probably explains the slip.
Good spot. Don't tell anyone, yeah?
brawford
15 weeks ago
Apple's OS just hasn't changed since 2007. Not much anyway. THey're all about profit, which clearly worked for them and made them the richest company in the world, but it's losing them their reputation. Might have already lost it.
The problem is, the iPhone 5 is a mid range phone with an old OS, dual core chip and small screen. Fine; it works great and looks nice, but it's still mid range...yet it costs more than anything else. Then when you see that Apple's profit margin is so much bigger than everybody else's...it's hard to not think that they're selling a mid range phone at top end prices.
Smart phones used to be new and a bit intimidating...Apple capitalised on this and sold smartphones to people who didn't really know they wanted a smartphone...now all those people know how to use a smartphone, know what they want a smartphone to do and are starting to stray to other phones which can give them what they now know for themselves they want...
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